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Refund a client directly on their credit card
Refund a client directly on their credit card

It's quick and easy to refund credit card payments directly onto customers' cards.

Samantha Postlethwaite avatar
Written by Samantha Postlethwaite
Updated over a week ago

This article contains:

Credit card refund guidelines:

  • A credit card payment can be cancelled before midnight, Eastern time, on the same day that it was processed without requiring a refund. However, this will generate a receipt that is grayed out.

  • Credit card refunds are only possible when the original payment was made by credit card.

  • You can only refund an online credit card payment back to the same card that was initially used. Refunds are made via the payment record, or when cancelling an invoice item that is reconciled to an online credit card payment.

  • It's impossible to refund more than the amount of the original payment.

  • Credit card refunds may be refused by Paysafe. To ensure refunds are accepted, we suggest accessing your Netbanx merchant account to view the status.


Refunding accompanying an invoice cancellation

Refunds are often issued in the context of a purchase cancellation. If the credit card payment was made at the moment of purchase, it is possible to issue the refund while cancelling the purchase.

Select the invoice you wish to cancel, and follow the outlined procedure for canceling and issuing a refund. To refund directly to your client's card, be sure to choose Credit card as your method of payment.


Refunding without cancelling an invoice

Issuing a refund without cancelling an invoice can be especially useful when:

  • A payment was entered separately from the original purchase

  • The original purchase was cancelled without a refund being issued

  • You need to refund a single payment 

  • You want to keep the participant registered but want to refund a portion

The account must have a credit balance for you to be able to issue a refund. If the credit balance is at $0 before you issue a refund, you will need to first create a credit memo through the Client Billing subtab. 

To do so, click on Operations and select ‘$ Create Credit’ from the drop-down. Fill in the details including the amount you wish to refund and click save. A credit memo will appear in the list of entries.

If a payment was made online, then you can issue a refund either online or offline. However, if a payment was made offline, you can only issue a refund offline. 

Issuing an online refund

If you want to issue a refund online, find the electronic payment that needs to be refunded and click on the blue plus (+) sign on the right. The payment transaction must NOT be reconciled to an invoice (confirmed with an orange reconciliation triangle).


Click on ‘Refund’ and fill in the details including the amount you wish to refund and click save. You may only refund online back onto the original credit card that was used for the payment, not just any credit card.


Issuing an offline refund

If you want to issue a refund offline, click on Operations and select ‘$ Make Refund’ from the drop-down. Fill in the details including the amount you wish to refund and click Save.



Cancelling before midnight

If a payment was made by mistake it is possible to cancel the credit card payment prior to it processing, on the same day before midnight, Eastern time.

  1. Access your client’s account. On the Client Billing tab, find the payment you wish to cancel.

  2. Click on the receipt.

  3. Click on Cancel payment.

When a payment is cancelled before midnight, Eastern time, no fees will be billed to you by your merchant account provider. It will also provide a grayed out receipt in the client billing's account.

When you issue a refund, your merchant account provider will charge you $0.30 transaction fees. They will not refund you the fees paid for the original transaction.

What should I do if a credit card refund is refused by Paysafe?

There are two solutions available in the event a credit card refund is refused:

1. Refund the client using a check and take no further action in SmartRec; or

2. Within the client's billing account:

  • Enter an OFFLINE payment and mention in the notes that the transaction is due to the fact that the credit card refund was refused in Netbanx.

  • Enter an OFFLINE refund in SmartRec and refund the client with a check.

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